Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Emergency department (ED) visits for opioid overdose provide an important marker of acute morbidity. We sought to evaluate national trends of ED visits for opioid overdose. ⋯ In a nationally representative database of U.S. ED visits, we found that the ED visit rate for opioid overdose quadrupled from 1993 to 2010. Our findings suggest that previous prevention measures may not be adequate.
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Although chronic pain is prevalent among American Indian (AI) populations, the use of traditional healing practices has not been widely investigated. The aim of this qualitative study was to solicit information from adult AIs with chronic pain regarding use of traditional health practices (THPs) for chronic pain and pain reduction. ⋯ The findings of this qualitative study suggest AIs from this tribal community utilize THP, but which specific THPs should be included in an ambulatory-based pain treatment program will require further research.
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The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and nature of physician, nurse, and pharmacist verbal counseling at the time of a new prescription for an opioid-acetaminophen containing medication as recalled by patients. ⋯ Patients infrequently recall counseling from providers on topics that are important to prevent harm from opioid-acetaminophen prescriptions. Future patient-centered clinical research should target identifying optimal strategies to convey these critical messages.
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The aim of this study was to determine whether ranolazine, a new medication that targets sodium channels to improve cardiac ischemia and angina, could be an effective analgesic agent for pain associated with demyelination injury. ⋯ Ranolazine exerts broad-spectrum actions to reduce mechanical allodynia that is associated with peripheral demyelination injury.
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Due to rising rates of opioid addiction and overdose among individuals on chronic opioid therapy, aberrant drug-related behaviors (ADRBs) are an important and challenging issue. Our objective was to qualitatively investigate the documentation of ADRBs in the medical record. ⋯ The impact of including emotional language in the medical record is unknown. Development of instruments that can be used to facilitate ADRB documentation, as well as evidence-based approaches to addressing ADRBs, is needed.